Improvement in photographic albums



" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOB)T D. METS, OF DUBUQUE, IOVA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PHOTOGRAPHIC ALBUMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,300, dated July 2l,1563.

.To all whom, it may concern'.-

Be it-known that I, JOHN D. METS, of Dubuque, in the county of Dubuqueand State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in BindingPhotograph-Albums; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this speciiication, in which-Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an album made with my improvedhinge-binding. Fig. 2 is a side view of one leaf of a hinge. Fig. 3shows the back of several leaves and the manner of uniting the sametogether. Fig. 1 is an enlarged sectional view showing the manner ofuniting the album-leaves to the Y hinges. Fig. 5 is a side view of aportion of one hingeleaf enlarged. Fig. 6, Sheet 2, shows the end of analbum bound with hinges. Fig. 7 shows an album-leaf united to onehinge-leaf. Figs. 8 and 9 show the manner of constructing thealbum-leaves to receive the leaves of the hinges.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to an improvement in binding that class of bookswhich have very thick and sti leaves, used for containingphotograph-pictures, and commonly called photograph-albums.

1t consists in securing each separate leaf, of which the album iscomposed, to metallic or other plates, which are hinged together in sucha manner that a succession of hinges or joints are formed, the eyes ofwhich hinges leave spaces between the plates exactly equal to thethickness of the leaves, thereby allowing the book to be closely shut,all as will be hereinafter described.

It also consists in a novel method of securing the album-leaves to theplates or leaves of the hinges, and in adapting said leaves to receivethese plates, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

The thick leaves which are required in photograph-albums cannot be boundtogether by stitching, or in the usual manner of binding books, and themethod of securing such leaves into a book form hitherto adoptedconsists in pasting a strip of muslin over the back edges of the leaves,and then putting on the cover, in the usual manner of tinishin g books.This plan, it will be seen, is not very durable, as each leaf has onlyits pasted edge and the thin muslin to hold it in the book.

In Fig. l, I have represented an album in which the leaves are allsecured together at their backs by means of hinged joints, which consistof thin plates of metal, or other suitable material, a, having eyes bformed on them, as shown clearly in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. The methodot' forming these hinge-plates is as follows: A strip ot' metal of thedesired width and length is doubled over a rod in the direction of itslength, and by a certain manipulation a tubular eye is formed on theunited edge of this doubled plate, which being split at suitable points,the sections b b are bent alternately, one side and then the other,forming a double-eyed hinge-plate, to which a plate corresponding insize, but diftering in respect to the position of its eyes b, may behinged by means of a pintle, o, which should be as long as thehinge-plates, and of such a size as will t into the eyes of the plates.Thus the spaces between the eyes of one plate willreceive and be filledup by the eyes b of the opposite plate, and in this way any number ofthese plates may be hinged together. The diameter of the .eyes b shouldbe made with respect to the thickness of the album-leaves to be used,for the spaces between the plates a are determined in this way, and theymay vary according to the thickness of the album-leaves. When the platesay are formed with their right and left eyes b they are punched out, asshown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5. These holes e e e are intended to receivepieces ot paper or other suitable material, which unite the two outsideportions, f f, of the leaves A to the plates a, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

The leaves A consist of two outside pieces, ff, and an inside piece, g,(shown in Figs. 8 and 8,) the latter of which is cut out, as shown inFig. 8, to receive the perforated portions of the plates a. The lengthof these hinge-plates is not equal to that of the leaves and the insideportion, g, is therefore cut so that the ends of the plates will becovered, and the spaces between the portions fj' filled up at thesepoints.

The manner of uniting the hinge-plates to the leaves is as follows:rIhree pieces of paper, f f and g, are used for each leaf. The insidepiece, g, is cut, as above described, and pasted on one of the outsidepieces, j'. The perforated portion of a hinge-plate is now adjustedWithin the space left by the portion which is eut out ot'fpiece g, andpieces of paper z', of the size and shape of the perforations c e, arenow pasted on both sides and inserted Within these perforations. Theother outside piece,f, is now pasted over the Whole, and the leaf thusformed With its hingeplate (shown in Fig. 7) are put away to dry underpressure. The small bits of paper i, which are introduced into the holesthrough the plate a., should not be thicker than this plate, and theyfurnish surfaces to which the outside portions,ff, can be pasted, andboth of these portions being pasted to these bits of paper it will beseen that when the whole is dry they will hold the hinge-plate and theleaf firmly together. The perforations e e may be made either round orsquare, or oblong, and lled up with corresponding-shaped pieces ofpaper,

A pasteboard, or other suitable substance which will supply their place.The leaves When formed in this way, with their respective hingeplatessecured to them, are put together by passing small wire rods or pintlese. through their eyes, and every Wire connects two leaves together inconsequence ot' its passing through the bent eyes b of each hinge-plate.Vhen a suitable number of leaves to make a book are thus united, theyare put into a press and their edges plowed or trimmed, after which thecover of the book is put on in the following manner: The covers are madeand iinished in the usual manner of making covers for books which arenot stitched, and the two outside leaves, A A, are pasted down on theinside faces of the covers, and then put under pressure until dry.

I have described a particular form of hinge as applicable to my improved method of binding albums, but it will be seen that a hinge mightbe constructed out ot' a single plate which is not doubted. The eyes inthis case Would be made by bending over the metal, after it has beenclipped, and soldering down the edges. I do not, therefore, desire toconiine myself to any particular form of hinge. Neither do I `vvish toconfine myself to any particular material out of which to make saidhinge, as the same may be made of gutta-percha or leather, and when madeof the latter substance the sides of the plates need not necessarily beperforated, since pasted paper will adhere to it, which it will not doto metal.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved method of binding photograph-albunis, uniting theleaves thereof to perforated plates which are hinged or jointedtogether, substantially as described.

2. A photograph-album constructed With a hinged back made up of asuccession of plates hinged together, substantially as described.

3. Uniting the book of leaves to the cover thereof by meanssubstantially as described.

et. A combination of hinged plates, united together and adapted toreceive and hold the thick leaves A A', and to form a hinge-binding,substantially as described.

JOHN D. METS.

Witnesses:

MYnoN H. BEACH, Giro. GRAY.

